Reignited
by HunterBlaine
Summary: An alternate telling of RWBY post-beacon. Greek fire, other couples TBD, full summary insaide
1. Chapter 1

**So…Im not entirely sure where this idea came from, but it won't leave me alone, so naturally I had to turn it into a story right? Now then a couple things to clear with this story and a couple of the characters because I know if I don't, some people may go like 'huh?'**

 **Raven: Raven is featured in this story, having come back following the death of Summer. She'll be a more pleasant person than the show has portrayed, but being around Ruby Yang and Tai for over 15 years, I think its easy to see why**

 **Jacques Schnee: He's…well there ain't a PG way to say it- in this story, he's not a total d**khead to his daughter. Whitley is the same as ever though.**

 **Other than that, this story follows canon up until the destruction of Beacon, that being that Pyrrha survives. This is a Greek Fire story, but not only that, it features a lot of parings I wouldn't normally write, so Im excited to give it a shot. Won't spoil the rest of the pairings for you all this time though. Feedback received.**

 **This chapter won't be as long as the others will be primarily being a intro chapter more than anything**

 **So! Enough of my chattering, let us begin.**

Chapter 1: Fallout

- **Patch, 4 days after the fall of Beacon-**

 _Vale council officials today voted for a further increase in not only troop numbers, but the speeding up the recall of any available Huntsman and Huntresses from all non-essential away missions to help prepare for possible Grimm incursions from not only the outer walls, but also Beacon academy. In a joint statement with General Ironwood, The council leader went on record as saying-_

Tai had finally had to give up on watching the TV, shutting it off with a frustrated groan. All anything was broadcasting at this point was news of the attack, and you could only hear the same reports and same facts and speculation so many times before you just couldn't take it anymore. Still, the quiet of the house sent him into an uncomfortable feeling of uneasiness he couldn't stand. "What a mess..I didn't think it could be this quiet with the girls home, let alone when they had friends over," He mumbled.

He stood and walked to the kitchen, sitting the plate he had just finished into the sink. He glanced out the window, seeing the rain was getting worse. "I wish Raven would just get back here already..I hate her even being there." He knew it was stupid, considering who Raven was, but what could he do? Recent events hadn't exactly helped his nerves.

Vale, and by extension Patch was now in a constant state of chaos. Refugees from Vale who's homes had been lost in the Grimm attacks had been routed to Patch via a council decree. The only issue with that being that the spike in fear from those people arriving had riled up the Grimm not only in the outskirts of forested lands, but the waters around Patch. Tai had lost count of how many ships had been sunk, the latest being a small dust freighter.

"Enough. Not much point turning the news off if your just going to run a recap in your head." Sighing, he decided to go check on everyone while he was up anyway. He made his way upstairs, stopping at the first door which was marked with a yellow 'Y'. Turning the knob only to discover it was locked, he knocked gently. "Yang? You up?"

"What is it dad?" Came her muted reply

"Was just wanting to check up on you. Alright if I come in?" He heard her sigh but stand up and after a moment the lock clicked and the door slowly opened. Yang waved him in before flopping herself back onto the bed. "You..doing any better, kiddo?" He said slowly, kicking himself even as he said this.

"Oh yeah, Im fine dad. Y'know only having one arm isn't as bad as some people might make it out to be. Im definitely lighter on my feet without the extra weight," she snapped. Tai sighed to himself and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Okay, I probably had that one coming. Ask a stupid question right?" He chuckled a bit. Yang shrugged and went back to glaring out the window. "You hungry at all? I could make you something." Yang shook her head. He sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair slowly. "Well..sorry to bother you. I get it, you need some more time," he said. He got back up and headed for the door, Yang's face softening just a bit as she glanced his way.

"Dad I..I'm sorry. I promise it's not you or mom it's just-" he held up his hand and she fell silent. He walked over and gently ruffled her hair.

"Its fine, sweetheart. Truth be told, I can't say I would be much better off if I was in your place. When your ready to really talk about it though, your mother and I will be here for you okay?" She smiled a bit and nodded. "Good." He kissed the top of her head and made his way out, closing the door back. "Note to self..get in touch with Ironwood somehow," he mumbled as he continued down the hall to the door marked with the red 'R'. He opened the door slowly, and was met by Weiss looking up from her book to meet his eyes.

"Hello, Mr Xiao Long," she said folding the book over onto her lap. Tai winced a bit as he walked in, sitting on the chair on the opposite side of the bed.

"Weiss, I've told you a half a dozen times you can just call me Tai. Only my students call me that, and I don't even like getting it from them." She nodded and Tai let out a sigh as he looked at Ruby. "She still hasn't moved a bit has she?" Weiss looked down and shook her head.

"Im afraid not. It's rather worrying, honestly." Ruby had been unconscious ever since the end of the battle. She had gone to help Jaune and Pyrrha who were fighting Cinder, and gotten herself knocked out somehow. Qrow hadn't seen what happened exactly, but from what bits Weiss was able to give, Ruby had screamed, then there had been some type of bright white flash. "Mr.- I mean Tai..has there been any word on how things in Vale are going?"

"Well..some troops from Vale finally showed up and between them, whats left of the Atlas contingent, and the Hunters they've managed to keep a lid on things in the main city. But making any moves towards Beacon is..well risky would be the understatement of the decade. With so many Grimm migrating at once because of that thing on top of the tower, it'd be risking too many lives for an already lost battle zone. Im just happy my girl are safe. Some people can't say that after everything." Weiss nodded sadly and went back to looking at Ruby. "You really care about her don't you?"

"Well..of course I do. She's my best friend. Although the reason why she wants to be my friend confuses me to no end. But..I'm glad she does." She smiled for a brief moment before it fell away. " She's going to be in a panic when she wakes up, no doubt. That scream..I thought..well I thought we lost someone else. That we might have lost her"

"You can't dwell on that..the important thing is we didn't. Ruby's here, she's safe."

"I know just..I hate this had to happen. It's not fair," she said softly, her hands slowly clenching into fists. All the work she and her friends had put in had all been taken away from them in a single night, and despite how hard they fought, they hadn't been able to stop it. She hadn't felt that helpless in a very long time. Needless to say she hated it.

"It never gets any easier to see this kind of thing. You see things like Beacon more often than most of us like to admit when your out in the world. But it's not a lesson I would have wanted you kids to learn so early on, that's for sure. Well..I'll leave you your reading. I need to check up on Pyrrha, see if she needs anything." He stood and made his way out, stopping in the doorway. "Call me if she wakes up. Oh, and Weiss?"

"Hm?" She said turning to him.

"Im glad Ruby made friends with you too. Means a lot to me and Raven that she has teammates that care that much about her." Weiss looked at him wide eyed for a moment before smiling

"Thank you..Tai." She said

"No problem. Ice queen." He closed the door before she could yell at him, smirking as he headed to where Pyrrha was. "She's going to kill Yang one of these days for getting that bit started, but I couldn't resist." The door to the guest room Pyrrha had been placed in was slightly open when he reached it. "Pyrrha?" He heard no answer back for a moment and was about to leave when she spoke.

"Come in.." Tai walked in and found her sitting on the bed, her legs pulled up so her chin rested on her knees. Pyrrha's left foot was wrapped up tightly, damage from Cinder's arrow not having healed properly, her hair wasn't tied back, instead hanging loosely well past her shoulders. The dark orange shirt and black pants she wore was some of Yang's clothes, her combat gear being ruined and her other things still stuck in Beacon. She looked at him, forcing herself to smile a bit. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Ah, nothing major. I was just making sure everyone was holding up okay, maybe see if any of you needed anything while I was at it. Ive already been to see Yang and Ruby." She sighed softly and nodded.

"Im doing well enough..thank you. Though don't feel like you have to get me anything. I still feel bad for even being here and making Weiss sleep in the living room. It must be terribly uncomfortable.."she said.

"You kidding? That pull out couch is more comfy than you can imagine for sleeping on. Besides, she's the only one not hurt and she said she doesn't mind."

"Even still I feel like Im imposing. I could make different arrangements and-" Tai shook his head

"Pyrrha. It's fine. Any friend of Ruby and Yang's is welcome here any time, just like I told Weiss's father when he came to get her. You can stay for as long as you want, it's honestly no trouble. Frankly, I think having some friends around would be good for Ruby and Yang. After what happened..well you know."

"Not sure I'm in a position to cheer anyone up right now."

"Trust me, just having someone there can make a world of difference." Pyrrha didn't look entirely convinced, but she appeared to give up the weak arguing and went back to staring straight ahead. "Look..for whatever it's worth? People think you're a hero." Pyrrha's eyes fell to her injured foot and she scoffed bitterly.

"Some hero.." She muttered. He sighed and quietly left, knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere right now. It was just like with Yang, things were just too fresh right ran a hand over his face as he made his way back downstairs. When he reached the bottom, the front door opened, and in stepped Raven, her long spiky black hair and outfit soaked from the rain. He walked over and pulled her into a hug before looking her over.

"How'd it go? Did you find anything? Are you hurt anywhere?" She held her hand up to quiet him before putting that same hand on his face.

"Take a deep breath, Tai. Besides being freezing from all the damn rain, Im fine." He let out a relieved breath that managed to pull a half smile out of her. He had always been such a worrier, even if he tried to deny that sometimes. "Now can I get by or what? Im exhausted and want to change out of this before I freeze where Im standing." He nodded and after sitting her sword in it's usual spot by the door she disappeared into their room in the back. While she was gone, he grabbed some coffee down from the fridge and started making it. She returned a short time later and the two of them sat. "Want some?"

"No thank you. Ozpin ruined that stuff for me a long time ago, you know that."

"He does drink a lot of it doesn't he?" He chuckled

"That's putting it mildly. Anything happen while I was gone?"

"I wish. I'd just got done checking up on everyone when you got home. Yang talked a little but..more of the same other than that." He sighed and took another drink, sitting the cup to his left. "Alright lets hear it..how was Beacon?" Raven sighed and folded her arms.

"About as bad as their saying. Maybe even worse than that. I only got to the main courtyard before I had to turn around, so to be fair I didn't get a good look at everything. But what little I managed to see wasn't good. I doubt that CCT tower is getting repaired anytime soon. I don't want to even think about all the ones I didn't even see, the ones actually IN the school. It'll take a lot more than what units are in Vale to take back that place."

"I tried to tell you you'd never get close enough for it to matter." Tai said taking another quick drink. "Still..I probably should have gone with you. I never can anymore, and it's driving me nuts." Raven saw the look on his face and reached over, placing one of her hands in his.

"Someone has to be here if Ruby or Yang needed one of us. We both agreed on that remember? And it all turned out fine right?" He nodded. "So quit beating yourself up." He sighed heavily but nodded.

"Im just so damn frustrated by..all of this. Ruby not waking up, the school being destroyed and everything they saw during it, Yang has gotten so angry at everything ever since she lost that arm and her partner ran off that she won't even talk to us most of the time, and when she does its never good."

"That's another thing..I need to ask Qrow to do some digging on the white fang when he gets the chance." She stood and walked over to the window to stare out of it. "I want to know everything I can about the man who led them during that attack. Adam Taurus."

"Even if Qrow can get info on him, he's probably high tailed it off of the continent at this point," Tai said as he carried his now empty cup over to the counter. "And even if he hasn't, it'll be hard to get to him."

"I know all of that, Tai. But I don't care how far he runs..or how long it takes." Her eyes narrowed and her fingers slowly curled back into a fist. "I'll make sure he regrets the day he ever decided to lay a finger on our daughter." Tai walked up behind her and wrapped on arm around her waist.

"Not without me you won't. I wouldn't miss that for all the lien in Remnant." Raven smiled and put a hand over his. "But first..we need to get the girls better. You know that too right?" She let out a sigh but nodded.

"There's nothing we can do for Ruby though. You've got an idea for Yang?"

"Maybe..assuming Ironwood hasn't left Vale yet."

 **And theres that done. I gotta admit im excited to get further into this. So..yeah that's all I got.**

 **While im here, you guys should definitely check out Novusdawn and his story 'A recut gem' its an Emerald-centered story and its very well done.**

 **Read/review/ follow all of that and as always ill catch you guys next time**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello there everyone and welcome to the next chapter of Reignited, I hope you've been doing well.**

Chapter 2: Awakening

 **-Vale hospital, Intensive Care Unit-**

His entire body was numb. That was the first thing Jaune realized when his eyes slowly began to open, a bright white light greeting him that took a moment to adjust too. He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain forced him right back down. 'Well this is perfect..' the room was full of beeping machines that he was hooked up to with one arm or the other. He glanced to his left when his hand brushed up against something. Looking down, he saw it was a call remote. He took it into his hand slowly and clicked it a couple times before letting go. His left arm was tightly wrapped, no skin showing through. Before he could question this any further however, the door opened.

"Oh my, your awake!" The surprised voice of the nurse turned his attention to the door. She walked in and checked the machines Jaune was hooked up to before looking down at him. "How are you? Are you in any pain?" That was an easy question. He couldn't feel ANYTHING, let alone pain. He shook his head a bit and she smiled. "That's good. I'll go get the doctor, Im sure he'll want to check up on you himself." Jaune sighed to himself as she hurried out. He'd just have to wait for him to be able to ask anything, though he had to get some water or something first, his throat feeling like sandpaper.

'God I feel like death warmed over. What the hell happened after I-' he felt his confusion fade into fear as it came back to him. The last memory he had before blacking out was Cinder slowly making her way over to Pyrrha and then a blinding white light. 'Pyrrha..Ren, Nora..oh god what if they…no. No, stop that right now. There's no way. God I cant think straight with all this crap their probably pumping into me. I need to-oh my god..'. He had reached up to rub his eyes when he discovered that his right arm no longer had a hand to do so. His right hand was gone, a carefully wrapped stump in it's place. 'N-No…no no no…this can't be happening. NO!'

He had begun to panic, fighting his numb body to move. He wanted out of here. He wanted out of this damn bed and he wanted answers right now. The doctor entered with the nurse, his smile and look of relief turning to worry when he saw Jaune's current state. He walked over and placed both hands firmly on his shoulders, gently pushing him back down. "Mr Arc, I know this is..jarring. But you need to take a couple of deep breathes and relax. In your current condition, you will only make things worse." Jaune used his remaining hand to gesture to his throat and the nurse hurried to him with a cup of water. Slowly drinking it down, feeling the cool liquid ease the feeling, he stared up at the man.

"What..happened?" He whispered, his voice rough. The doctor-his name was Maize from the name tag on his white coat- chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before answering.

"Which part would you like to know first? There's a bit to go over."

"My friends..are they all okay?" A small smile crossed the mans face.

"Yes. There were no casualties among the students who were fighting. As for your team in particular? Miss Nikos, Valkyrie and Mr Lie Ren are all fine, though I won't lie to you, the latter two are currently admitted to this hospital. Their not as bad off as you, however so don't worry yourself over that." Jaune felt a wave of relief hearing this. His friends were safe and alive, that's all he could ask for after everything.

"How bad off am I exactly?"

"Well..your left arm suffered severe burns from the attacks you blocked. Even though it wasn't a direct hit, the metal of the shield and your armor being heated to that degree while having direct contact to your arm caused a lot of damage. Near as we can tell, there's been no nerve damage so you should maintain full functionality of it. I should forewarn you however theres likely to be some substantial scarring. Aura can only do so much. Your sword arm in particular the hand..." he trailed off and let out a sigh.

"Cinder cut it off…" Jaune finished, the memory coming back to him. He had swung wildly, the intense burning of his left arm and desperation clouding his mind. Cinder had sidestepped, materialized her bladed weapon and removed his hand in one quick strike. His fist clenched tightly, a deep burning rage settling into his mind, though he forced it back for the moment. He still had one more question.

"Were already talking to Atlas about prosthetic options, if you'd be interested. We considered the ones we have here, but given you likely still wish to be a huntsman, you'd be better off with military grade tech." Jaune could only nod. "Aside from that, you also had a lot of glass and such in your legs and upper body from the Grimm destroying the top of the tower. As well as a few cracked ribs and a particularly bad gash near your neck, nothing life threatening though. Is there anything else you need to know?"

"When can I leave?" The question seemed to take Maize aback for a second, but he quickly composed himself.

"Now that your awake, we'll keep you under observation for a couple days. As long as no new problems crop up, it shouldn't take long at all." Again, Jaune nodded and Maize cleared his throat. "Well, I'll leave you to rest. You've been hit with some big news and all, and I'm sure your team would appreciate an update on your condition."

"That, and we don't want Miss Valkyrie getting too wound up again," the Nurse said. Jaune chuckled a bit

"Yeah..Nora can be a handful..thanks for telling me their okay, at least. I needed that." Maize smiled and gave him another nod before walking out. Jaune turned to the nurse, "Could you turn down the meds a little? I feel like a zombie with all this stuff in me," he said.

"I can, but if you start to be in too much pain, it's going right back up, deal?" Jaune nodded and she adjusted he settings on the IV. "Now, other than some more water do you need anything else?" Jaune shook his head and after getting him a refill she left. Jaune settled back, staring at the ceiling, clenching and unclenching his hand. It felt…so odd. Like his body wanted to move his other hand, but there was nothing to move anymore. Cinder he repeated that name In his head over and over again, each time he felt his anger building, teeth clenching and his clenched fist shaking a bit.

"She'll pay for this when Im out of here..her and every single one of her friends." He had never in his life felt this intense of an anger in his entire life. Cinder had destroyed the school, hurt countless people among them Jaune's closest friends and damn near crippled him. Jaune could only pray he would be there when Cinder was finally taken down. If he had his way, he would perform the kill shot himself. And gods help anyone who tried to stop him.

He eventually had to reign in his rage to try and sleep, not able to do much of anything else, and feeling a lot more tired than he probably should be. He wasn't entirely sure how long he was out, but he was woken by a faint knocking on the door. When his eyes opened he saw a grinning Nora and Ren there. "Guys..?" He said softly.

"About time you woke up! We've been worried sick mister," Nora said as they walked in. Wiping the rest of the sleep from his eyes, he got a good look at their injuries. Ren's left arm was in a cast, a strap tied over the shoulder of the arm it was on. Nora had a similar cast but on her left hand.

"Do..they know you two are here?" Jaune asked

"Well duh silly! They are pretty strict about who they let into this wing of the hospital during non-visitor hours." Nora smiled, pulling up the two chairs that sat in the corner of the room. Ren nodded as they settled into them, relief prevalent on his face.

"But when we heard you had woken up, we had to come see for ourselves. As Nora said, we've both been rather concerned." Jaune smiled a bit, seeing his friends here with him. Though there was still one person absent.

"What happened to Pyrrha after all the fighting was over?" He asked Ren.

"Her ankle was the worst injury she incurred thankfully. She was seen to and given leave to Patch along with Ruby and Yang."

"What about Weiss? Blake?"

"Weiss is with them, after sorting things out with her father. Blake...is gone." He saw Jaune's eyes widen in horror and he shook his head quickly. "No, no, don't worry. Gone as in she ran away, not dead. Me and Nora have been in touch with them and other than Ruby still being unconscious, everyone appears to be fine. Physically at least.." he trailed off.

"Has she been up to see me? Pyrrha?" Nora shifted uneasily, her eyes falling to her hands. "Are you serious?" Jaune said, his smile dropping.

"I think she felt too guilty to do that, Jaune. Before they left for Patch she came by to see Ren and me and she looked really upset when we asked if she'd seen you yet." Jaune shook his head. So Pyrrha didn't even bother to come by? He felt that same anger force its way to the surface, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the wall.

"Well, good. Only reason I was even up there was because she wanted to go play hero," he muttered.

"Jaune that's unfair-" Ren started

"The hell it is! I couldn't stand the idea of her fighting that monster alone, so I went with her. Like a partner and leader should right? I told her it was a bad idea and we should just leave. Did she listen?! No! So now because I felt like I HAD to be there because she was am idiot, look at me!" He snapped waving his stump limb at them.

"Jaune I get that your upset, but she-" he held up his hand, still trembling in anger

"Enough. I..I don't want to talk about her anymore right now. I'll deal with HER when the time comes. Are you two okay?" He said, his voice tight. Ren and Nora exchanged a nervous look

"Other than my arm, a slight concussion and some cuts and bruises, I am doing fine. Nora broke her hand and a couple ribs taking that shot from the mech for me. They were actually planning to release us tomorrow."

"That brings up a good question..whats the plan for you, Jaune?" Nora asked gently. Jaune, his anger faded let out a sigh.

"Im under observation for the next couple of days. If nothing else happens, they say my chances of getting out of here quick are good. Actually Ren..could you do me a favor? After you guys get out of here, check to see what happened to my gear. I want to know if I need a new sword and shield on top of needing a new hand," he said, glaring down at it. Ren winced at the bitter tone his friend took at the mention of his lost hand, but he nodded.

"Of course I will do that. Come on Nora, we should probably get back to our rooms before we get thrown out of here." Nora nodded and leaned forward, giving Jaune a hug, much gentler than the ones he was used to from her.

"Im glad your okay, Jaune." They left and Jaune let out a sigh.

"But I'm not…and I doubt I ever will be again," he mumbled.

- **Patch** -

Ruby groaned softly as she felt her eyes slowly starting to open. When they did, she found she was staring at the ceiling of her room in Patch. Wincing a bit from the aches that ran through her body, she sat up and looked around, seeing she was alone. As she processed how she could have gotten here, the door opened and a gasp could be heard from the other side. "Ruby!" Ruby looked over and couldn't help the grin that broke out across her face.

"Weiss!" Weiss walked in and hugged Ruby, a gesture Ruby returned almost instantly, ignoring her sore body protesting.

"You had us all worried sick, you big dolt," she said before flicking her forehead. Ruby pouted and rubbed the spot as Weiss pulled away.

"Im not even awake for an hour and your already flicking me. Mean." Weiss rolled her eyes and the two laughed. Ruby's laughter died however when she realized if she was back home, the battle must have been over. That meant.."Wait a second..Yang! What about Pyrrha and Jaune?!" Weiss' eyes widened and she shushed Ruby, keeping her from standing. Ruby's breathing began to quicken as she tried to regardless. "Let me go! We have –"

"Shhh…Ruby-Ruby! Look at me okay? Everyone is fine. Everyone is alive and recovering. Calm. Down." She said firmly, Ruby stared at her for a moment before nodding and breathing in deeply to quiet her panic a bit.

"Sorry it..It's just.. I saw Jaune. Before I passed out..He..Weiss he was.. I.." her eyes watered a bit and Weiss looked at her sadly.

"Wait here. Im going to get your father, okay?" Ruby nodded again, tucking her legs in to her rest her chin on her knees. Weiss made her way down the steps quickly to where Raven and Tai were. "Mr Xiao-I mean Tai! Raven! Ruby's awake!" She said as quick as she could. A look of shock flickered across both their faces for an instant before they both stood and followed her upstairs quickly. Ruby had tears running down her face when they got there, both of them going to comfort her.

Tai sat on one side of the bed, hugging Ruby while she cried while Raven sat on the other side, one of her hands on Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby.. shh…it's okay sweetheart. Were here," Tai whispered. Ruby's shoulders were shaking as she took in gulps of air, trying to calm herself but failing.

"I-If I had just been faster Jaune wouldn't have-oh gods…" she sobbed.

"You can't blame yourself. You did everything you could and we are proud of you," Raven said squeezing her shoulder. Weiss sat there, feeling helpless. It just didn't feel right seeing Ruby so torn up about this, but she knew there was nothing she could say right now that would do any better than her parents were saying. After a few minutes longer, Ruby had calmed down enough to talk, though she was still trembling a bit.

"What exactly happened, Ruby? Do you remember anything?" Tai asked gently.

"I..I got to the top of the tower and I saw Pyrrha and Jaune..and Cinder" she said, her fingers curling around the blanket tightly. "Then everything went white..and then nothing until I woke up here." Raven and Tai exchanged a look before looking back to Ruby.

"Anything else?" Raven asked

"I remember..my head hurting really bad when everything went white but..nothing else. Im sorry.." Tai kissed the top of her head.

"You've told us plenty, kiddo. You get some rest alright?" Raven nodded and gently ruffled her hair

"I'll be back to check on you later alright? Give your father a break from nurse detail," she said smiling when Ruby let out a giggle. They stood and Tai motioned for Weiss to follow them out. Once the door was shut, Raven turned to her. "You think you could do us a favor, Weiss?"

"Certainly. What is it?" Raven sighed angrily

"Well my good for nothing brother was with your sister last time I saw him, and he isn't answering my calls. Could you have your sister send him back when their done with..whatever mission Ironwood sent them on?"

Weiss nodded and smiled a bit. "Certainly. Whatever I can do to help. But I have to ask..is this involving Ruby and what she said?" Tai sighed and nodded. "Then I'll get right on it," she said.

"Thanks Weiss..we really appreciate it," Raven said. Weiss nodded and the two of them went back downstairs. The door at the end of the hall opened and Yang peeked her head out.

"What's all the fussing about?" She said sleepily. Weiss rolled her eyes and waved her over then turned to the other end of the hall.

"Pyrrha! Could you come here for a moment please?" It took a moment, but eventually Pyrrha made her way to them, a noticeable limp still plaguing her.

"Yes?" She asked

"Ruby's awake. And Im pretty sure she could use us right now," Weiss said. Yang's eyes widened a bit but nodded. Pyrrha looked unsure, but after a moment of thought she sighed then nodded herself.

"Is she okay?"

"Just…see for yourself," Weiss said softly as she opened the door and walked in with them.

 **Hope you folks enjoyed this, and I shall see you next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey there folks and welcome back to Reignited. So, I've updated you on where team JNPR and RW_Y stand, so heres the rest of the 'set up' chapters for you.**

 **-Aboard the _Pride_ , en route to Menagerie-**

She was a damn coward. She always had a feeling she was deep down, but her last few months at Beacon had fooled her into thinking things were different now. But in the end, they hadn't been. She could do nothing as her best friend was mutilated by someone she used to care about. Proving once and for all that her past would always catch up with her no matter what she did. "Their better off without me," she said softly as she stared out over the waves.

"You don't seriously believe that, do you?" Blake sighed in frustration at the sound of his voice. Had she known a certain blond haired faunus had been following her this whole time, she would have made an effort to lose him. Sun walked up and folded his arms on the railing. "They could actually use you now more than you even realize. Especially Yang-"

"Don't," she snapped as her eyes narrowed at him. "Don't mention her name to me. Its my fault she ended up how she did and..and I just can't think about it anymore. I need to get home and just..clear my head and decide what to do next."

"Look, I get that. You want to get some rest and then go after revenge for what the White Fang did to your friends. But this wasn't the way to go about it. You pushing them away like that? It hurts worse than anything one of those thugs could do to them...take my word on that one," he said. She flinched a bit as his words sunk in, her eyes closing. "I know you didn't want me here, and Im sorry I didn't just come out earlier, but..well you seemed really jumpy and I was going to hold off on it till we got there and you had some time to unwind. That kinda flew out the window earlier though right?" He chuckled referring to the sea dragon they'd fought just a few hours prior.

"Your still a moron for doing it. And by the way, my neck still hurts where you used me as a springboard," she muttered.

"Ha…yeah sorry about all that, I just wanted to be sure I had a good angle before I threw my clones at something else. You saw how well it worked against that mech after all," he said. She nodded and let out a long breath.

"So there's really no stopping you is there?"

"Nope! Besides even if you could get me to agree to leave were…sorta already on the boat." Blake rolled her eyes at that, making him grin.

"I could always push you off the boat and you could swim back," she offered flatly.

"You COULD but you won't. Besides this'll be fun! I've never been to Menagerie before, it's a regular journey to the east." Blake frowned and her ears twitched a bit as she thought that over.

"Where have I heard that before?" She asked turning towards him a bit. Sun shrugged after thinking about it for a second

"I dunno, probably some lame book you read or something," he said, holding his hands up in a calming gesture when she raised her hand towards him again. "Okay, okay sorry! Yeesh…just don't smack me again. My cheek is still sore from earlier." Blake pulled her hand back and went back to looking over the water

"No promises. Anyway, some journey. It's almost over and that was the most exciting thing that's happened." After a few minutes of silence, she spoke again. "Im going to try and get some sleep. You should probably do the same." She turned and left, not waiting for a reply. She walked back down into the cabin area of the ship, heading to the small bunk she'd been given. Sitting down on it, she reached into her bag and pulled out the book she'd grabbed from a shoo at the last pit stop the ship had made and tried to relax at least a bit to read until she fell asleep.

 **-Next morning-**

"Blake! You up in there? "Sun's voice called as he knocked on the door. Blake growled a bit as her eyes flew open.

"Im going to kill him," she muttered as she stood up. She opened the door and Sum flinched back at the look she gave him. "This had better be good," she said.

"Well uh..were getting close to Menagerie and I…just kinda figured you should know," he said slowly. Her look softened a bit, but she was still clearly annoyed. "Right well…I'll just..leave you be..sorry to disturb you!" He said rushing back down the hall and up to the deck.

"Your sorry huh? Never stopped you from continuing to do it," she muttered as she gathered up her things, throwing the bag over her shoulder. She made her way up just as the docks began to come into view. One way or another she'd made it..now she just had to face her parents and hope they didn't slam the door in her face.

 **-Southern Anima-**

Qrow was seriously starting to question the sanity of Goodwitch and Ironwood. Not only had they sent him to the ass end of Anima, but they had stuck him with the equivalent of a teachers pet and her friends to babysit. "Hey! How about you send your stooges to go check over that next hill, Ice Queen?" Winter shot a glare his way before ordering the two soldiers to do as he asked. "Well, color me impressed. They actually know how to follow basic directions," he said as she walked over.

"Their elite soldiers, not common grunts. You'd do well to remember that, Qrow." Qrow shrugged and took a quick drink from his flask. "How in the world do you function with that junk constantly in your system? Im surprised you haven't been killed yet."

"Your concern is touching, but not needed. Your only out here because Jimmy trusts people to do their jobs about as much as those stuffed shirts on the council," he said as they followed the soldiers.

"You distrust the council of Vale then," she said.

"I don't trust most politicians as a general rule, but Vales council in particular can take a walk of a cliff for all I care." With a grunt, he pulled himself over the next overturned tree. "If those idiots had just listened to Oz from the start all that mess with Beacon could have been avoided, but noooo they just couldn't bear to do that could they?"

"They are hardly at fault, Qrow. They could only work with the information they were given at the time."

"And don't even get me started on Jimmy's role In this. They trusted someone else over their own boss was a big part of that whole mess going to hell. Him and his precious androids." Winter couldn't help but wince at this, knowing full well Atlas tech had been the cause of a lot of injuries and even a fair number of deaths. More than that of the Grimm in certain areas, much to their shame. She composed herself however and sent a glare his way

"General Ironwood has apologized numerous times, to not only the council but Vale. And it was his decision to keep whats left of our forces here until the city has stabilized entirely."

"Well give him a prize then. Hate to break it to ya Ice Queen, but fixing a problem you caused isn't something to be rewarded. It should be expected. If I screwed up a mission for Oz I'd expect to have to fix my screw up, but I wouldn't ask for a pat on the back afterwards." Winter fell silent, eyes turned down. She hated to admit it..but Qrow had a point. "Oh got no snappy come back to that? Whatever. Let's just get this done, this forest is giving me the shivers."

"Are you certain that's not your drinking?" She said, smirking a bit at the dark look he sent her way.

"Ha ha. Remind me to nominate you for ' biggest smartass' award to Jimmy when we get back." They'd been walking for over an hour now and still had found no trace of their target. Qrow was starting to wonder if the info Mistrals council had given Glynda had mentioned was full of it when they heard one of the soldiers, Slate, calling them. Hurrying up they found him slowly disarming a tripwire.

"It's hooked into that tree over there. Im willing to be, that thing is full of explosives to cause it to fall over." Qrow nodded as he examined the wire closer.

"If the explosion doesn't get you, the tree sure as hell will. I take it back, Ice queen. Turns out we are on to something here." They continued down the path, Qrow now watching extra carefully for any more traps, to which he was rewarded when they disarmed two more on the path. "Someone sure didn't want us in here."

"You think it's the target sir?" The other soldier, Carson, asked. Qrow rolled his eyes at the 'sir' comment but decided not to repeat himself for the hundredth time that he hated that damn word.

"Possibly. Though, if it WAS him, I'd say he's done a pretty piss poor job with his defenses. Anyone with decently sharp eyes could find his little wire traps, and that's ALL we've seen so far. Stay focused and watch all the sides..never know what he could have in store for us." Another uneasy silence settled over the group again, the winding path taking them further and further into the woods. It was broken when Slate cleared his throat.

"Ma'am…if it's not classified or anything, could you maybe tell us what were even doing out here? The briefing was rather vague." Winter thought it over for a moment before nodding.

"I suppose theres no harm in telling you at this point. There's supposed to be an old building just a little farther ahead. It was one in a series of such places that was meant to house Mistrals brightest minds for their various methods of research."

"Yeah, I think I remember hearing about that, actually. It was right after they had that weird outbreak, right?" Winter nodded. "They were hiring a lot of consultants from the other kingdoms"

"Only after a few months, they found out one of the 'consultants' who'd volunteered their services was a mad man, and the project was shut down for fear of others being just like him," Qrow added.

"Yes. Mistral discovered that this man had previously been a resident of Vale and had been involved in..well the massacre at Mountain Glenn as a result of his experimentation. He was beginning to do the same things here, using Mistrals leeway to study the Grimm. His method of studying them however was..to try and make his own hybrid Grimm. One that could follow orders like a soldier. It was his hope that he could turn the Grimm into a force for humans instead of just being a curse."

"The guy was a few bottles short of a six pack if it ain't too obvious to you two," Qrow said. Winter rolled her eyes before continuing.

"At any rate…as things often go with such experiments, something went very wrong. One of his creations wiped out the staff of the building he had been in and he himself vanished," Winter concluded.

"And we think he's out here again? Why?"

"Mistral had presumed him dead, but a few weeks ago a man was caught smuggling some..rather interesting things. The description of the man who hired him matches perfectly. These labs are the only places on Anima that had the equipment he would need for his experiments, and as only one was destroyed we need to check them all."

"Ah, that makes a lot of sense actually. I appreciate the info ma'am," he said. Winter turned her face away, her eyes finding the ground.

"Certainly." Qrow, seeing this out of the corner of his eye sighed and came to a stop.

"Why don't you two scout ahead some more? Need to have a word with your boss lady here," Qrow said coming to a halt. The soldiers glanced at Winter who nodded, irritation present on her face. They saluted and hurried up the path. Once they were out of sight, Qrow turned to her.

"What is it now Qrow?"

"Look..I know you don't like keeping things from your people. I get that. But you know why we can't tell them the rest, right?" There was a slight tone of sympathy to his voice that caught her off guard for a moment. She composed herself and nodded

"Because we can't let people know about her, or what she's after," Winter repeated the words she'd heard from Ironwood so many times. Qrow nodded, taking a long sip from his flask.

"Exactly. See? Your taking to this whole 'inner circle' routine like a real champ Ice queen." Winter scowled at the nickname, much to his amusement. They started walking to catch up with the others. The edge of the labs perimeter slowly came into view as they rounded the final curve in the road. The fence was rusted out, the once strong locks rusted and falling apart, thick brush all along the length of the weakened metal.

"Um…I don't think anythings been here in years ma'am," one of the men said.

"That's just what were supposed to think. Cmon man, use your head," Qrow said. Winter shook her head as she slowly checked it over. She nodded towards Qrow when she found something. Leaning over, Qrow saw tracks where the gate had been pulled open and closed. Past the gate, they saw what looked like a trail of footprints. They were faded a bit, but they had to be recent if they were showing up at all with the rain that had come through this morning. What made a chill run up her back however was the deep impression where it looked as though something-or someone-had been dragged alongside the maker of the prints.

"Carson, give Slate a hand and move this thing." Quickly snapping into action at her command, the two soldiers moved and quickly forced the gate open. It slid along its path a little easier than it should have which made Winters frown deepen. Someone had oiled this, and not too long ago. "Once were in, keep your eyes on your sectors. Qrow and I will lead, you all cover behind us and our flanks."

"Yes ma'am" came the reply, even Qrow said it though he said it with a roll of his eyes and sarcasm practically dripping from the statement. The front doors to the lab were hanging limply on their destroyed hinges, so heading inside was easy enough. If not for the flashlights on the soldiers weapons however, they'd be in pitch black, the dusty hallways void of any natural or artificial lighting.

"Ma'am, we've got a directory here," Slate said pointing to it. Qrow walked over and wiped the dust and cobwebs away and looked it over.

"Says the main lab facility for 'Grimm studies' is one flight of stairs below us. If I was a gambling man, I'd say we'll find our friend there if he's still here at all. Let's get to looking for a staircase," he said heading ahead of everyone. Winter followed after him, her eyes looking over the remains of the building. They passed several doors that led into large rooms, each with a different label. One read 'infectious diseases' while another was 'Dust applications'. It was sad when she thought about it. This place and places like it had probably been a sign of hope for many..all ruined by the man they were now hunting.

"Why would the build so many of these places if they studied a bit of everything here?" Carsons question pulled her from her thoughts.

"My guess is so they could study multiple theories at once, really. Makes sense if you think about it, have this place study one disease while another focuses on a different one. Can't have all your eggs in one basket, right? That's why we keep you around. Need a body shield don't I?" Carson scowled and the two began to bicker quietly but never turning their faces from their assignment. Winter smiled a bit at this interaction. Slate and Carson were the last two survivors of her original tactics unit. The rest had been lost over the last two years, but somehow these two were always okay. She was grateful they still followed her and trusted her so loyally. It was hard to come by people to trust these days.

"Hey..I think we found the stairwell," Qrow said. Winter caught up to him and nodded. Qrow drew his sword and made his way down, Winter close behind him. Their was a dim light flickering out from a doorway at the bottom casting a pale blue shadow of the doorway against the wall. "I thought this place didn't have power," Qrow muttered

"Wouldn't be hard to rig up a generator," Winter said. She signaled for Slate and Carson to ready their weapons as they got closer. Qrow held up a hand, slowly bringing his sword back around. Winter took in a deep breath and tensed up, sprinting into the room with him as he dropped his hand and ran in. The room was empty, at least of people. The center of the room held a large table piled high with papers and books. On the back wall was a large monitor connected to a computer console. The walls to either side of them however were the worst. They were line with large tube-like containers that were labeled 'test subjects' by a messy black scrawl of paint.

"Shit..what the hell went on here?" Slate whispered.

"Whatever it was..he's long gone. Fan out and find any useful intel," he said. Qrow went through some of the papers on the table, most it just maniacal ramblings as far as he could understand. Something about 'purity' and 'unending power' was mentioned a lot along with something called 'project N'. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the monitor behind him began buzzing.

"Carson, what in the world did you do?" Winter said as she walked over.

"I-I apologize ma'am but..i think I found some type of video message." He carefully scrolled over the file again-the only file on the monitor Qrow noticed- and clicked it again. That same buzzing sound started but after a few seconds it stopped and he appeared on the screen. His robotic eye gleaming a wicked shade of red and his crazed smirk plastered on his face.

"Hello there, unwelcome intruders. Should you be seeing this recorded message, chances are you've discovered my old location. Unfortunately for you I've known about your little operation for days. So good to have friends in high places is it not? A pity that. That you came all the way to this old hovel to come up with nothing. I do hope you can understand why I couldn't be there to greet you myself."

"So someone sold us out yet again. Fantastic. I KNEW we should have gotten here quicker but Jimmy just wouldn't-"

"Shut up Qrow," Winter snapped, trying to hear the rest of the video.

"You see, I've discovered in recent months that trying to make my vision a reality on my own and without resources just doesn't work. You see my lab is..rather rough looking. And my poor containment units never got used because subjects would die in the preparation room." Qrow saw Slate point towards a door near the back and decided they better stay FAR away from that. "I had actually given up hope briefly..but her grace sent one of her men to speak to me and gave me an offer I simply couldn't refuse."

"Salem.." Qrow growled under his breath.

"With her at my back, I will make this world see the true scope of my dreams. And once project N is finished and is deployed successfully I will have proven worthy of her trust. Farewell, you fools. When next you see me..I will be alongside your new masters." The screen faded to static and Slate stopped the recording.

"Wh…What do we do now, Ma'am?" He asked in a trembling voice. Winter held her palm to her face and shook her head.

"For now…take as much of this research as we can back with us. Start collecting." She walked over to Qrow and sighed heavily. "If Merlot is helping Salem we just got a LOT more trouble heaped onto our plate. Things are about to get bad." Qrow nodded grimly and finished off what was left of his flask.

"I know..Im not looking forward to telling Glynda about this one."

 **And there we have it. So…who feels like a jackass for taking this long to update? -raises hand- Seriously guys I can't apologize enough things have been crazy at work lately and I've been too exhausted to write a lot of times.  
**

 **This was the last of the 'set up' chapters, so now next chap we get Yang and Pyrrha moving and start the main plot. See ya'll next time andI do hope you enjoyed**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey there everyone, and welcome to another chapter or Reignited. As we finished the introduction chapters last time, were going to have a bit of a timeskip**

 **-Patch, two months later-**

Raven sat on the couch, trying to focus on the paper she was reading but unable to with Tai's constant pacing. Finally, after twenty minutes of this, she couldn't take anymore. "Tai!" Her voice pulled him from his thoughts and he stopped in front of her."You need to get a grip, okay? Their just here to talk to Yang about the prosthetic options, not draft her for the army." Tai sighed heavily and sat down to her right.

"I know, I know. Just feels like we should be in there with her." Two Atlas specialists had arrived to their home earlier that morning, after waiting a couple months for them to be able to find the time to do so. Yang hadn't seemed all that eager to talk to them, but after a bit of coaxing from Tai and Raven she'd agreed to at least hear them out. "I just hope she goes for it."

"If she wants to get back out there and hunt again she'll have too, Tai. Im sure deep down she knows that too." She reached out and pulled one of his hands into her own, making him smile a bit.

"You honestly think we could stop her from hunting with one arm if she wanted to try?" Raven chuckled softly and rested her head on one of his shoulders.

"Maybe not..but I wouldn't make it easy on her, that's for certain." The two sat in silence for a little bit, Tai trying and failing to break it several times before he finally came up with something: Where was Ruby? "Im not sure…I think she and Weiss went into town for something. Knowing her she probably wanted some cookies or something. Thank god she didn't ask me to try and make them again."

"Ah give yourself some credit..they weren't…inedible. I thought they were alright." Raven rolled her eyes and he grinned as they heard the door open upstairs. The two men in Atlas uniforms came down and nodded to each of them as they stood to meet them.

"How'd it go?" Tai asked nervously. The older one with grey, slicked back hair smiled, putting his nerves at ease a bit.

"Rather well, if I do say so myself. If we may, I'd like to speak to you about it now that we've gotten Yang's input." They nodded and led both of them into the kitchen where they sat down. "We discussed both possible options, that being a civilian model and a military grade model similar to the General. We weren't aware of where she was with her wishes, but she picked the latter one pretty quickly."

"That's my girl," Tai chuckled softly. The younger officer pulled out a rolled up blueprint that he spread over the table carefully. Tai whistled softly as he eyed the diagram of the arm, the nickname 'guardian' penciled in at the top right corner of the paper.

"The guardian is the best design we currently have. It's durable but also made of materials that allow for a natural feel to keep the users combat capabilities the same." Tai nodded, looking over the design again.

"What do you need from us? What's the next step?" Raven asked.

"We'll head back to Vale, start making preparations for her surgery." Tai's eyes widened a bit.

"Vale? Not Atlas?" The man sighed softly.

"With all due respect Mr Xiao Long, we think it'd be best to have it done here. There's a lot of issues right now in Atlas, which is why it took us this long to even find time to come here for the consult. I assure you, we'll have one of our own perform the operation, but we'll need to do it here. Unless you'd rather wait-"

"No! No, we can't really do that now that we've gotten Yang interested in this. I just thought it was odd, but please…we need to get this done. Sooner the better right?" Nods answered him.

"How much will the operation and the arm cost?" Raven asked as the blueprint was rolled back up. At this, both of the men smiled at them.

"Please don't concern yourselves with all of that. We've been told that both costs will be covered." Shock must have shown on both of their faces because he chuckled softly, "General Ironwood wouldn't have heard anything about it either. Our cybernetics division wasn't pleased about 'giving away' a guardian model, but one call from the General and we didn't hear anything else." Tai shivered a bit, well aware of Ironwoods temper when someone began questioning his orders.

"I..don't even know what to say..tell him thank you for us..please."

"Of course. I imagine he may want to come see how she's doing first hand, but I'll pass it on regardless. We really do need to be going, but we'll be in Vale should you have any more questions." Theres another person we needed to speak to about his prosthetic." Raven nodded and stood, walking out with them. When she returned she sat beside Tai and took his hand again.

"She's going to be okay." He nodded and squeezed her hand, still carefully processing everything. "If she's going to get a new arm though..she'll need a new weapon. Or at least a replacement for the half of Ember Cilica that she lost in the fighting."

"I can probably get her in to use the forge. Normally it's for students only but..the headmaster at Signal owes me a favor." Raven smirked a bit

"Good. I'd hate to have to go over there and have a..little talk with him if he tried to turn us down." Tai rolled his eyes with a groan

"Please don't. Last time you said that we got banned from the theater for a month."

"Hey, that woman started it. Anyway, let's go see what she wants to do.." making their way up to Yang's room, they heard voices talking quietly. Opening the door, they saw Pyrrha sitting on the bed beside Yang who was staring at the floor. Pyrrha had one arm around her shoulders, patting her arm gently with the free hand. "Yang?" Yang looked up at the sound of Ravens voice, eyes full of tears. Pyrrha sighed softly and stood.

"Forgive me I..I should probably let your parents talk-" Yang grabbed her arm and looked up at her.

"Please…I-I want you to stay. Please." Pyrrha bit her lip, glancing at Tai who gave her a quick nod. Relaxing a bit, she sat back down. Raven and Tai walked over, Raven sitting on her other side, Tai kneeling in front of her.

"What's wrong? Are you not happy about the arm? You don't have to feel like were forcing you to-" Yang shook her head quickly and sniffled, trying to wipe away the tears before they could start flowing.

"N-No it's not that. I..Im just thinking about someone.." she said softly. It didn't take a lot of thinking to figure out who she meant. "I just started thinking about what Weiss and Ruby will think of the arm then I thought of Blake's reaction..big mistake doing that," she whispered. Tai sighed softly

"You can't do this to yourself..it's not your fault she left."

"Yes it is!" Everyone flinched a bit at her sudden outburst. "It must be! Why else would she just run off without so much as a word huh? I was so damn stupid and got myself crippled because of it. I don't blame her…Im useless now, and why would she want to be reminded of that every day?" The bitterness in her voice made Pyrrha wince a bit.

"You are NOT useless and I don't ever want to hear you say that again, Yang." Raven frowned as she reached out and put a hand on her arm. "You made a mistake. It happens, and its not something you can ever avoid. Sometimes no matter what you do, you'll screw up. And that's fine. Your human. Your allowed to do that and well..sometimes those mistakes can cost you things you didn't want to lose," she said softly. Tai could see her eyes sadden a bit when they flicked towards him for a moment before returning to Yang. "The important thing is that if you get a second chance, you take it and you get it back. Not everyone gets that option, but you will."

"That's right. Now that we have a plan for your arm we can move on to the next step. Getting your weapons situated so you can actually go out there after its done. This will be a new start for you." Yangs eyes looked over to the remaining piece of Ember Cilica on the dresser.

"I don't think I can use them anymore. Every time I look at it, Im reminded of everything. And even if I didn't have that problem Im pretty sure the firing mechanism is screwed. Even Ruby said she wasn't sure she could fix it." Raven and Tai exchanged a look. "Besides..if Im going to be starting over..I want to start over completely."

"You wish to have a new weapon?" Pyrrha asked, eyes widened a bit as Yang nodded. It was hard for her to picture that. The gauntlets had always been a source of pride for her friend and now she wished to be rid of them.

"Well..we can have that done, once we get into the forge that is. What kind though?" At this, Yang looked at Raven

"I was..thinking something kind of like what you have, actually. Or something like I had but maybe add some type of blade attachment?" To say Raven was surprised would have likely been the understatement of the century.

"Bladed gauntlets. Alright..I hate to rain on your parade kiddo, but you haven't been trained with that. You'd have to learn a new style and-" Raven nudged his ribs hard.

"She has me and Qrow when he brings himself back. Trust me Tai, that's ALL she'll need. I actually think it's a smart idea. It'd give her another option if a fight got bad and she had to keep her opponent out of her face.

"She has me as well," Pyrrha said holding up her hand a little nervously. Yang smiled, almost fully this time, a gesture Pyrrha returned. "Ive been meaning to get back to training regardless and I can't think of a better starting point than to help you. So you can count on me, now that I've gotten my own weapon fixed," she said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you Pyrrha.." Yang whispered, her eyes watering a bit again, but this time with a small smile. Tai smiled and ruffled her hair as he stood.

"Im glad that's settled then. Just try and relax, alright? We'll leave you two alone. We kind of interrupted you earlier after all," he chuckled. Raven stood and walked out with him. Once the door closed, she smirked a bit.

"So…you catch that? Seems those two have gotten close these last few weeks." Tai nodded as they walked downstairs, chuckling along with her. "Things are about to get a lot more interesting.."

Once they were gone, Pyrrha turned back to Yang. "Are you certain your okay with all this? I realize it's a big step for you." Yang flopped backwards, groaning as she stared at the ceiling.

"I honestly don't know anymore, Pyrrha. I WANT to get the surgery because I think if I stay in this house any longer Im going to break a thing or two, but…" she trailed off, and when Pyrrha looked closer she could see the conflict in her friends eyes. "But Im scared. Everything is going to be so different now and I hate it.. Not so much the different weapon or my arm.. but me. I don't know…everyone says it'll help me get back to normal. 'Embrace the reality of the situation' as Weiss put it. What a joke. THIS-" she waved her stump around a bit "-Is my reality now. I want the arm, but Im not trying to fool myself into thinking it changes that. Part of me feels like it'll just be like Im pretending everything is okay..and I know people outside of our group will look at me funny. Like I need their pity. I..I don't know. I just don't want to drag down my friends and family while their trying to drag my sorry ass back up y'know?"

"I understand completely..it can feel scary to adapt yourself to new circumstance, but that's why you have us," Pyrrha said. Yang shook her head as she sat back up.

"Its more than that Pyrrha..I lost a part of me..a piece of me is gone and its never coming back. In more ways than one," she said softly. Pyrrha sighed sadly and nodded in sympathy. "I never thought she'd actually leave me. It hurts like hell.."

"She was your partner Yang. I would be surprised if you weren't affected. And..if it helps..I know precisely how you feel about that. Jaune won't even speak to me anymore. So he may as well be gone.." Yang looked at her horrified.

"What? He's been out of the hospital for a month!"

"And have you not noticed Ren and Nora have been the only two to come by and check on me?" Yang realized she was right. Ren and Nora had visited them frequently over the last month, but their blond leader had been absent every time.

"Why though? It doesn't make sense for him to be mad-"

"He blames me for everything that happened to him, Yang. All of it. The burns, Crocea Mors being destroyed, and worst of all his sword hand being removed." Yang scoffed and shook her head angrily. "He's not wrong to feel that way. If I hadn't gotten it into my head to try and fight Cinder even knowing she bested even Ozpin he wouldn't have been-"

"How can you say that Pyrrha?! CINDER did all of that to him. Not you!" Pyrrha stared down at her hands.

"But it's because of me he was even up there fighting her. I knew Jaune wasn't going to let me go it alone. Or at least I should have known."

"That's what a partner is supposed to do, Pyrrha! It's why I went after Blake, its why Weiss went with Ruby to find you two. Your supposed to be there to protect your partner no matter what. You don't blame them for getting in trouble just because it goes bad. Sometimes that just happens! Jaune's hurt and angry but that doesn't mean he has a right to take it out on you. And if he sees it differently, then I gotta say I'm pretty disappointed in him. He's better than that." Pyrrha stared in shock as Yang finished her rant, her eyes tinged red, but slowly fading back to their normal lilac color as they glanced down at her stump. "I guess that's why her leaving hurts so damn much..I don't blame her for this..how could I? Your not supposed to just abandon your partner when they need you.."

"What will you do if you see her again?" Pyrrha asked softly. Yangs fingers slowly curled back into a fist.

"I don't give a damn what her reasons were. She left me. I want to look her in the eyes and ask her to give me her best excuse..then I'm going to knock some sense into her."

 **-Vale, a few hours later-**

Jaune winced as he carefully removed his jacket, placing it on the back of the chair. It was still a pain in the ass to get dressed with only one hand. Thankfully that wouldn't be an issue much longer. He pulled out his scroll and laid down on the bed of the hotel room he'd been provided. Like most of the other students at Beacon who either couldn't go anywhere or didn't want to like him or those who just had nowhere to go like Ren and Nora, he'd been told they could stay as long as needed. He was grateful, but still felt like a bit of a freeloader. He was browsing the news on when the scroll pinged with a message.

 _Ren: Nora and I are going to be buying some supplies, are you needing anything?_

 _Jaune: Not really. Maybe you could swing by and pick up my order though? Im a little tired after sitting through that lecture from the Atlas reps and I'd really just like to rest._

 _Ren: Consider it done. See you soon._

Jaune had talked to several weapon shops in Vale-the ones still standing anyway- and had finally settled on a new sword and shield that he thought would be a good fit for him. He couldn't begin training for a few more weeks but he wanted to have a head start for when he could. He sat the scroll off to the side and stared down at his stump of a hand. "I can't get that surgery quick enough..Im so sick of waking up to this," he said bitterly.

This was a constant reminder of his failure during the battle with Cinders forces. He had given everything he had and in the end he'd been little more than an annoyance to the new maiden. Even Pyrrha had seemed to do little more than slow her down a bit. He felt a growl rising in his chest as he thought of Pyrrha. There was a part of him, the more logical part, that knew to lay the blame at her feet was stupid. She didn't put her rifle to his head and make him go up with her. In fact she'd begged him to reconsider, but he was hearing none of it and went.

Even still, that logical part of his thinking was often overruled by the constant pain and anger he felt over the shape he was in. He'd tried so hard to convince her that they had to leave it. To go get help like Ozpin had ordered. Pyrrha however had been determined and had told him to leave her to it. He shook his head angrily at the memory. "After everything she'd already gone through, with Penny and seeing everyone looking at her like a monster, after all the pain and pressure from whatever that machine was under the school, did she really think I was going to tuck my tail between my legs and leave her? If she thought it was going to end badly, we should have left! But nooo…she just couldn't do that. Ozpin couldn't even beat her and he was probably the strongest hunter at Beacon. What a joke..we were in over our head from the start!" He snapped

He had no illusions about what had been about to happen had Ruby not showed up and did whatever she had done. Pyrrha couldn't even stand from the arrow in her ankle and Jaune had just taken a fiery blast that his shield had barely been able to keep back. After Cinder had removed his hand when he went in for one last attempt to attack her, he remembered looking up and seeing that smug smirk as Cinder picked up his sword and heated the blade until it snapped then casually threw the pieces over the side of the tower. She had drawn back her bow and aimed an arrow directly at him..then there was a blinding flash of silver, Ruby screaming his name as the light covered everything, then nothing as the shock finally sent his vision to utter black.

Everything that had happened had caused the divide the currently existed between him and Pyrrha. He had gone there with her by his own choice. He didn't deny that. But the fact of the matter was, he didn't have much choice in that moment. It was either try and help Pyrrha or leave his partner alone to her likely death. Something he was never going to do. And then after he woke up, she wasn't even there because she apparently couldn't even look at him? Like she didn't want to face the fact her stubbornness had caused her partner all of the pain. As far as he was concerned, he had nothing to say to her right now no matter how much Ren and Nora disagreed. Right now all he wanted to do was get the surgery and start preparing. He didn't know how or when he could start, but he was going to go after Cinder and her group.

 **Gah…shit I am SO sorry this took so long guys. I got pretty sick earlier this month and then even when that was over I hit a wall of writers block. I tried to make the chapter a bit longer, but just a heads up I am back now.**

 **See you next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey there readers and welcome to a new chapter for Reignited. I hope you've all been doing well.**

The days leading up to Yang's operation passed by quicker than any of them had been expecting them too. On the final day before the operation, Yang had spent the day out with Pyrrha, going to the weapons shop to order ammo as well as getting a few materials for building her new weapons, while Pyrrha bought a few new outfits so she didn't have to keep bumming clothes off of Yang. It was honestly the first time in months Yang had remembered smiling that much in a long time, and Pyrrha felt the exact same way.

Sadly, it didn't last.

The next day, they took an early airship to get to the hospital. Being back there drew up a lot of horrible memories that Pyrrha had been trying to be rid of. In the immediate aftermath of the battle for Beacon, this place had been packed with the wounded, their moans of pain still haunted her even now. She'd been nervous about it, but if it meant being there for Yang's surgery, she'd gladly put up with it.

Yang didn't seem to be fairing much better than herself, her face having grown more and more pale the further in they went. Worried looks from Raven and Tai near the front snapped Pyrrha back to the it. She nudged her and offered her the most reassuring smile she could. "Relax. Were right here with you, remember?" Yang smiled a bit and nodded, her tension relaxing ever so slightly.

"Im just..still shocked that this is going on. It's a lot to take in." She said. Pyrrha nodded in understanding, Yang letting out a nervous chuckle as the passed by one of the operating rooms."They didn't exactly help anything by telling me that connecting the nerves would be very painful OR that they couldn't put me under for that part."

"What? Why not?"

"They said that they needed to be able to test if the connections are done properly. Connecting nerves isn't something that they can just guess with, y'know? And they can't get a feel for that unless I'm awake."

"They'll give you some stuff to help numb the pain, I'm sure…right?" Pyrrha said, glancing at Raven who nodded.

"Oh believe me. I'll make sure they do." They rounded the corner for the next hallway and Pyrrha's eyes widened when she saw Ren and Nora standing outside one of the operating rooms. They looked up from their conversation as they heard the footsteps.

"Pyrrha? What're you doing here?" Nora asked, smiling. Pyrrha returned the quick hug she gave her and gestured to Yang who waved a bit.

"Yang's here to get her new prosthetic fitted, and I wanted to be here for the operation. Ruby and Weiss should be along shortly, Ruby overslept again. Wait..why are you two-" her eyes flicked towards the door when she heard a faint cry of pain. "W-Wait..is he..?" Ren nodded.

"Jaune is getting his hand prosthetic as well. It..hasn't gone as well as they hoped so he's in a bit more pain than they had originally promised," he sighed. Seeing that Yang had gotten a lot more nervous at hearing this, Tai gently began pulling her away from the door as another cry rang out.

"You know the room, right Pyrrha?" Raven asked, quickly following Tai when Pyrrha gave her a quick nod. She stared at the door for a moment before her eyes slowly fell to the floor .

"Did..he not even want you to at least TELL me about his surgery happening today?" She asked softly. Ren and Nora exchanged a sad look at how her voice cracked a bit.

"Forgive us..we've been trying very hard to talk to him, but he's hard headed, you know this. He wanted the surgery as fast as possible to begin training again. The doctors have told him he should take it easy for a couple weeks after its done, but I doubt he's going to listen. Truthfully, I'm worried for him..right now the drive to catch the ones responsible for the Beacon attack seems to be all that's keeping him going."

"W-Well it's better than him sitting in the hotel moping around, right Ren?" Nora said, trying to stay positive, but not really succeeding.

"A desire for revenge is no better, Nora. In fact, in a number of ways it's much worse. It can become all-consuming and can turn you into something your not because of it. You see how he's distanced himself from everyone but us, including Pyrrha? It won't get any better unless he chooses to let go of the anger he's built up." Nora sighed heavily but nodded, knowing Ren was dead on.

"Your right..Im just so tired of feeling like I can't help anyone on my team when they need me," she muttered. Ren shook his head, turning to her.

"What do you mean Nora? You help more than you give yourself credit for," he smiled. Nora blushed but grinned before turning back to Pyrrha.

"Listen Pyrrha..we'll keep trying to get through to him, or at least get him to hear you out. But for now.. you should probably just go to Yang. Jaune will be in a lot of pain after he get's out of here and I doubt he'll be in a reasonable mood." Her eyes watered a bit, but she nodded slowly.

"Okay..can you call me later and at least tell me if the surgery was successful or not?"

"Of course," Ren said firmly, smiling a bit when she gave him a thankful look. Pyrrha said a quick goodbye and hurried down the hall. When she got there, Yang was just being helped onto a bed while a doctor wearing an Atlas issued uniform was going over the procedures details with Tai and Raven.

"I won't lie to either of you, it will be rather painful. We can give her some painkillers to help, but nothing stronger than that I'm afraid."

"Do what you can for her, please" Raven said.

"Doc..her aura is pretty stubborn. Is that going to be a problem? For attaching the thing I mean," Tai asked.

"We have ways around that but..your not wrong that it could complicate things. Let's just hope it doesn't come to one of the more extreme measures." Pyrrha shivered a bit at that and walked over to Yang who was trying-and failing horribly if you asked her-to put on a brave face.

"S-Sounds like a piece of cake, huh Pyrrha?" Pyrrha chuckled softly and took one of her hands into her own, squeezing it a bit. Yang smiled briefly before it fell away, a nervous look towards the operating rooms door. "Who the hell am I kidding..I'm kinda freaked out here," she mumbled. Pyrrha put a hand on her arm

"I would be surprised If you weren't, Yang. Your about to go through something very intensive. But..once it's over we can really get started with getting you back out there. I'll train with you as much as you'd like okay?" She smiled when Yang relaxed a bit. "You've got this. I know it."

"Thank you Pyrrha..I don't know if I've said it enough, but I'll never be able to pay you back for being there for me like you have." Yang's eyes watered a bit, but she kept smiling.

"You don't have to repay anything. Im happy to do it," Pyrrha said softly. They stared at each other silently for a moment, only breaking from it when Tai cleared his throat.

"We all good here? They'd really like to get started," he said in a amused voice. Pyrrha took a step back, staring down at her hands like they were the most interesting thing in the world to hide her blush while Yang, her face red as well, looked away. Raven smirked a bit at this before walking to Yang's side with Tai.

"We'll be right here when your out of there, okay? Try not to cry too much," She said

"Gee, thanks mom," Yang said with a roll of her eyes. Tai leaned down and kissed her forehead before they both stepped back. "I love you guys.."

"We love you too, Yang. See you soon." Pyrrha let out a sigh as he door closed behind them. Tai glanced at her, frowning. "Pyrrha? Everything okay?"

"I..I wish I knew. I'm going to go get something to drink." She walked away slowly, Raven grabbing Tai's arm to keep him from stopping her.

"Give her a few minutes to herself. Seem's like something is bothering her right now," she said. Tai nodded and the two of them sat down near the doors, wondering when they might start hearing Yang if things went bad, bracing themselves for it.

Pyrrha stopped by the cafeteria and grabbed a drink then walked outside, sitting one of the green benches outside. She sighed again, taking a quick sip of it. She didn't know what exactly what was going on with Yang lately..or rather what was going on with her reactions to Yang. With all the issues going on within her own team between her and Jaune, the only time she ever seemed to be really be happy was when she and Yang were talking or hanging out somewhere.

That wasn't anything new in and of itself, it was hard NOT to be in a good mood around Yang now that she was starting to really be herself again. The constant puns got old, of course they did, but Yang was just naturally funny to be around and it let her forget for a while.

But something was different lately. There would be moments like just a few minutes ago, where they'd stare at each other only to realize they were staring and have to break it off. There was also that when she pulled her hand away from Yang's arm she felt..reluctant to do that. There was also that warm feeling she always got when seeing Yang smile or laugh. And that pit in her stomach when she saw Yang was having a hard time or feeling down on herself. She only really felt something similar to that when- "When I was with Jaune while we were at Beacon.." she said, her eyes widening. Wait..there was no way she could like Yang in that way right?

"T-That's silly! Were both girls and..well..I'm not..well certainly Yang's not..gah." She huffed, unable to find a way finish that sentence. Who the hell was she trying to fool? The fact that she could examine how she was feeling and find that it compared to Jaune-someone she knew she was interested in and still was to a degree-meant that denying it wouldn't be any good in the long run. She'd already learned that the hard way more than once. "I..have feelings towards Yang.." she said. Sure there were far worse things than this but..to say it out loud made it feel odd. Not bad mind you, just..odd.

"Just great..what do I do now?" She whispered, running her hands over her face. She'd never given any thought to being with another girl, and even if she had, she knew she wasn't over Jaune. The fact that his cold attitude towards her was still hurting as much as it was told her that much. She didn't want to possibly pursue a relationship with Yang-That's IF she did. She wasn't sure where Yang was with all this-and have things change with Jaune. Yang deserved better than that. At the same time though, these feelings were only going to get stronger the longer she was around her, and she wasn't sure if she could go much longer without at least mentioning it.

"UGH!" She snapped, crushing the drink can with her semblance and chucking it into the garbage, coming to a decision as she made her way inside. She'd wait until Yang was recovered from her surgery first. After that..who knows? She definitely needed to talk to Jaune sooner rather than later now though. "Why is nothing EVER simple?" She muttered

- **Signal academy** -

Glynda's temporary office was actually nicer than most of the old offices in Beacon, Qrow thought to himself as he and Winter made their way inside. When he voiced this however, Glynda simply rolled her eyes and sat down, motioning for the two of them to do the same. "Yes well, quality of the accommodations aside, I'd much prefer it if I WAS still at Beacon..one day," she said with a sigh.

"I assure you, General Ironwood has every intention of it," Winter said with a smile. Glynda nodded, shuffling some papers out of the way.

"Thank you Winter, but I've already been assured of this several times. James has mentioned it to me more than once in some of our talks," she said. Qrow raised an eyebrow and she sighed, pushing her glasses up on her nose a bit higher. "Yes Qrow? I know that look."

"You tend to take a lot of personal calls from Jimmy these days or what?" Winter rolled her eyes at the question, Qrow smirking while Glynda stuttered for a reply. As amusing as it might have been under different circumstances to see Goodwitch flustered, they had more pressing issues. She jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow to silently convey this and he grumbled under his breath before nodding. He opened his scroll and hit a few buttons, Glynda's scroll lighting up a moment later. "Theres your copy of everything we managed to dredge up from what was left of Merlot's little science fair. Unfortunately I doubt it'll be of any real use."

"What's this 'Project N' he speaks of in these notes?" Glynda frowned as she skimmed through the report.

"Unknown at this time. Our best guess is that he's resumed operating on a new type of mutant Grimm, though to what end I couldn't even begin to guess. The man is a wild card to put it kindly," Winter said.

"What about the other lab facilities around Anima? Could he have simply relocated?" Glynda asked

"Doubt it. If he really has a source inside somewhere that told him we were coming and that the labs were being searched, I doubt very seriously he would use one of those again," Qrow said

"And besides..we believe he got a better offer than what he was doing in the first place," Winter played the message Merlot had left for them in the lab over to her. "Merlot has joined forces with Salem." Glynda sagged further back in her seat, hand over her eyes. Ozpin had always feared they weren't done with Merlot but this..

"This is not good..not in the slightest," she said softly. After a moment to gather herself, she took a deep breath and sat up straight. "First order of business then is to root out this mole in our network. He would have information vital to finding Merlot and now, by extension, Salem."

"We agree. Were just unsure where to start."

"I've got a LOT of contacts that were involved with that operation. It could be any of them," Qrow said with a sigh, bringing his flask up to his lips. Glynda shrugged one of her shoulders.

"Then you'll simply have to go down the list, won't you?" Qrow spat out the mouthful of drink he had just taken and coughed a few times, Winter unable to keep a smirk off her face as he sputtered

"Uh…you said what now?"

"You'll have to go down the list, Qrow. If we don't be absolutely thorough with this investigation were just going to get burned again." Winter nodded her agreement and Qrow sighed.

"Fine. We'll do that, but can we hold off on it for a couple days? My niece is having her new arm attached today, and I'd really like to be there for her. I've missed enough of that stuff, you know?" Glynda smiled and nodded.

"Of course Qrow. Tell her I hope she has a speedy recovery. Is there anything else we need to go over?" She asked, to which they both shook their head. "Then you two can go. I have to go check on a few things anyway." They stood and walked out towards the front of the campus, Slate and Carson snapping to attention as they approached.

"At ease, you two. Were done here. We'll be returning to Atlas for the time being to brief General Ironwood on plans going forward, Qrow will be remaining here for a personal matter."

"Understood ma'am. Qrow..can't wait to get back out there. Been..interesting working with you," Slate said extending his hand. Qrow half smirked and shook it quickly.

"Likewise. You guys ain't too bad...for Atlas stooges." The three of them laughed while Winter just shook her head, nodding to Qrow before they set off towards their ride to the airfield. Qrow cracked his neck and jumped, transforming and heading off towards Vale General. He was already running late for Yang's surgery and he already wasn't looking forward to Raven's rant she surely had ready for him.

 **Hope you enjoyed and I shall see you next time.**

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